District and upazila task forces have detained 214 fishermen for catching mother hilsa in defiance of the 22-day ban, from 13 October to 3 November, in the sanctuary areas of the Padma and Meghna in Chandpur.

Md Mizanur Rahman, assistant fisheries officer of Sadar upazila, gave the figures at 9:30pm on Sunday (3 November).

He said the Chandpur district and upazila task forces ran 665 drives in Matlab Uttar, Matlab Dakshin, Sadar and Haimchar upazilas during the 22-day campaign to protect hilsa breeding. The 214 fishermen were detained in these drives. Through 85 mobile courts they were given prison sentences and fines totalling Tk 2 lakh 49 thousand. A total of 258 cases were filed over these incidents.

In addition, 20 lakh 69 thousand metres of current net, 3.191 tonnes of hilsa and 37 fishing boats were seized. The teams inspected 20 fish landing centres, 370 fish ghats, 2,060 wholesale shops and 606 markets.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.